The abstract submission procedure will appear different and will include a one page summary of basic instructions necessary to submit the abstract.

There will be a tiered-down approach for selecting categories with major categories and tiered sub-categories.

The Moderated Poster Category has been removed and will be replaced with a “Short Oral Presentation” featuring brief oral presentations (5 minutes + 1 minute Q/A) in a moderated session.

Investigators associated with the top five scoring abstracts in each of the tracks, Therapy, Imaging and Joint Imaging/Therapy, will be required to develop 8’ posters in addition to their oral presentations. These posters will be displayed in a specially designated "Best in Physics" theater.

The Young Investigators Symposium will be held jointly by the AAPM and COMP and will be entitled: “The John R. Cameron and John R. Cunningham Young Investigators Symposium”.

A "dawn-to-dusk" program (8:00 am – 6:00 pm) of Educational, Professional and Scientific Programs will allow attendees more sessions in areas of particular interest with less parallel track overlap.

Late Effects from Radiation Therapy, Secondary Cancers and Cardiac Toxicity

HDR Brachytherapy Including Commissioning and Quality Assurance for HDR Applicators

Impact of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on Radiation Dosimetry in Medical Physics

Practical Medical Physics Track

Joint AAPM - CCPM Educational Session

Writing/Reviewing Papers for Medical Physics

Going Paperless in a Radiation Oncology Clinic

Clinically Focused Physics Education

Practical Contouring: Prostate and H&N Anatomies

Overview of Accreditation Programs for Radiation Oncology: ACR and ACRO

Practical Tips for VMAT Implementation

Practical Concerns with Airport Whole-Body Scanners

Review of Radiation Detectors for Diagnostic Radiology Applications

The New ACR CT Accreditation Program: Phantom Submission Process

Professional Track

Professional Council Symposium - Preparing for Radiation Oncology ACR/ASTRO Accreditation

ABR 2014: Trained for Competence

Preparing for Diagnostic ACR Accreditation

Women's Professional SC Panel: Successful Career Strategies in Medical Physics

The Role of Voluntary versus Mandatory Regulatory Standards

Meet the Experts - Young Member Symposium

Medical Physics in Africa

Preparing for ABR Board Exams

Economic Focus: Practical Aspects

Role of Medical Physics in Federal and State Government

John S. Laughlin Science Council Research Symposium

Topic:
Science and Engineering for Patient Safety in Therapy and Diagnostic Medical Physics

Innovations in Medical Physics Education

The Education Council of the AAPM will be sponsoring the Innovations in Medical Physics Education symposium to honor and publicize innovations in Medical Physics Education. AAPM members are invited to submit a one page description of innovative medical physics educational activities for radiology residents, radiation oncology residents, medical physicists, technologists or others. The projects can be scientific research, novel teaching strategies – team teaching or adult learning efforts, novel educational materials – lectures, websites, or other innovations.

The top six submissions will be invited to present their projects at the symposium during the 2011 AAPM annual meeting in Vancouver, BC. Each speaker will be allocated 15 minutes.

The top project will be presented a plaque. Additional honorable mention plaques may be awarded. Unfortunately no travel support is available. The deadline for submissions is March 7, 2011. Selected submissions will be notified by April 19, 2011.

How the Meeting is Organized

The numbering scheme encodes the day, time block, room assignment and talk number in the abstract presentation code. The organization for each day (Monday - Thursday) is shown in the table below. Times and Rooms vary on Sunday and Thursday. For example, on Tuesday:

How the Sessions are Defined

Science Program

Scientific Session - These sessions comprise the bulk of the scientific program, in which the best-scored proffered abstracts are presented in a regular oral presentation format. Each session is on one or several specific scientific topics, with several oral presentations (typically 10 min each).

Symposium - A symposium is a topical session focusing on a current topic related to pioneering or state-of-the-art research and development of medical physics. The symposia often include multiple speakers, some of them invited, to speak on the topic. Some symposia will include a panel discussion aiming to define the current state of the field and to distill the thinking of the experts.

General Poster Discussion Session - This category includes the accepted proffered abstracts that are not associated with oral or short oral presentations. The materials are judged to be of high scientific quality and merit presentation at the annual meeting. Authors will be present during the scheduled session in order to interact with meeting attendees.

Educational Program

Education Council Symposium - This symposium is designed to update our members on the various activities of the Education Council. Emphasis is placed on the resources and programs that are available to enhance the skills of our members as well as resources that are available through the Association to assist our members when presenting programs to related health professionals and the public.

Educational Courses – The Educational Program consists of courses in two major areas: Radiation Oncology Physics (24 courses) and Diagnostic Imaging Physics (32 courses). The program will feature courses on standard therapy physics practices, including QA/Safety, IMRT/IGRT QA, site specific treatment strategies for pelvis and head/neck, radiobiology for radiotherapy, and clinical Monte Carlo techniques. Lectures on special clinical procedures, such as SRS and SBRT, brachytherapy, and proton therapy will be included. In addition, topicson functional imaging and image processing will be covered. The Diagnostic Imaging courses cover the physics and technology of multiple diagnostic imaging modalities including: CT, MRI, ultrasound, radiography/fluoroscopy, radionuclide, and mammography as well as courses on informatics, radiation safety and risk management. These courses are excellent updates for the practicing medical physicist and provide opportunities for younger physicists to learn from the top experts in the field.

Professional Program

Professional Council Symposia – Symposia including the Professional Council Sunday Symposium are focused on current topics that involve the professional practice of medical physics. Subjects may range over all aspects of practice such as legal issues, government affairs, research and clinical funding, economics, practice management, peer relations, standards and guidance and ethics.

Professional Courses - will be held for specific purposes that require multi-hour programs such as government mandated training and education, time intensive professional issues, or programs that involve attendee participation.

Practical Medical Physics Program

The Practical Medical Physics Track focuses on the activities of the clinical medical physicist. Ten courses covering practical aspects of therapy, diagnostic, and nuclear medicine physics are offered this year. A highlight of this year’s program will be a session jointly sponsored by COMP and the AAPM aimed at covering topics related to the education of our junior colleagues and students. A follow-up session will be dedicated to clinically focused physics education. Some of the challenges of implementing a paperless process flow in a radiation therapy clinic along with setting up a VMAT delivery program will also be covered. A session dedicated to practical tips for contouring prostate and H&N anatomies will be offered. A review of radiation detectors for diagnostic radiology applications will be given, as well as a session devoted to concerns related to airport whole-body scanners and another session covering the phantom submission process for the new ACR CT accreditation program. Rounding out the program are two professional topics: tips for writing and reviewing manuscripts for Medical Physics, and an overview of the practice accreditation programs offered by the ACR and ACRO.

Special Recognitions & Acknowledgements

Best in Physics

SUNDAY, JULY 31
3:30 pm - 4:00 PM
Poster Theatres
Exhibit Hall c

"Best-in-Physics" presentations are those scoring highest in the abstract review process and judged by the Scientific Program Directors to reflect the highest level of scientific quality and innovation.

Each year the AAPM conducts a Young Investigators' Competition for the Annual Meeting. This year it is being held joint with COMP. Young Investigators were encouraged to submit abstracts for the competition. The 12 highest scored Young Investigator submissions determined by abstract reviewers are selected to be presented in a special symposium, in honor of University of Wisconsin Professor Emeritus John R. Cameron, Ph.D and John R. Cunningham.

Young
Investigators Symposium will be held Sunday, July 31 (4:00 - 6:00) in Ballroom A
in the Convention Centre.

The top 3 winners will be recognized during the AAPM Awards and
Honors Ceremony Monday, August 1 from 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm in Ballroom A in the
Convention Centre.